LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Imagine Crush, the sea turtle from "Finding Nemo," stopping mid-stream, turning to the audience from his movie-screen undersea environment and saying, "Hey you -- dude in the green-striped shirt -- what's that on your head?" Walt Disney Imagineers have created precisely this kind of magical interaction in "Turtle Talk With Crush" at Epcot.
The breakthrough experience gives Walt Disney World guests the chance to engage in live, unrehearsed conversations with the animated sea turtle from the Disney presentation of Pixar's "Finding Nemo." From his digital world under the sea, Crush chats, plays and jokes with guests in a unique, personalized way. The 152-year-old turtle recognizes guests and asks them questions about themselves and the human world in the first-of-its-kind live, real-time animated show.
Located in The Living Seas pavilion at Epcot, "Turtle Talk With Crush" is the latest milestone in Disney's legacy of bringing characters to life in new and incredible ways. It represents Imagineering's latest foray into real-time animation. Using digital projection and sophisticated, voice-activated animation, Imagineers created a new way for Disney guests to talk with this personality-rich character.
The new show began as a prototype in the Research and Development labs of Walt Disney Imagineering in California three years ago. The challenge was to give guests a way to personally interact with Crush from his animated, undersea world.
"The Imagineering team exceeded our wildest hopes, and "Turtle Talk With Crush" is a magical experience that delights children and adults of all ages," said Kathy Mangum, executive show producer and vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering. "You never know what he is going to say, and our guests will be enchanted and amazed."
"Turtle Talk With Crush" opens the door to a new realm of theme park experiences -- one in which Disney guests and their favorite animated characters can talk, joke and play together in a way that only Disney can create.
Also new at The Living Seas: Bruce's Shark World.
Bruce, another of the stars from "Finding Nemo" (the one with the memorably toothy countenance), is featured in an interactive area that provides guests with photo opportunities plus colorful graphics full of fun facts about sharks.
Bruce's Shark World and "Turtle Talk With Crush" are included with Epcot admission and are presented during Future World operating hours.
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